LONGMONT — The Longmont Christian volleyball team had lofty expectations for this season from the beginning. But they learned last year that a good regular season can end quickly at the district tournament if they’re not prepared to play.
On Monday at the St. Vrain Memorial Building in Longmont, the Warriors opened the preliminary rounds of district play with a 25-13, 25-16, 25-12 win over Twin Peaks Charter.
While the Warriors didn’t play their best, they played well enough to beat the Timberwolves, who made their first appearance at the District 7 tournament in their first season with a varsity team. Warriors junior setter Anna Stair said they knew they weren’t at their best in the first game, but the Warriors intend to build on the win as they move further into the tournament.
“We just really wanted to get the word out to districts that, ‘Hey, we’re here. We’re coming,'” Stair said. “Usually we go out there and cream teams and we could have played better than we did tonight. We were a little off our game tonight but it’s a good start.”
Stair led the Warriors with 26 assists and senior outside hitter Caroline Mitschke led them with 11 kills.
Junior outside hitter Allison Cochran, who registered 10 kills in Monday’s win, said the Warriors will need to be on top of their game on Tuesday when they face Lyons (13-6) for the chance to advance to the weekend’s four-team, round-robin tournament and a shot at a state tournament berth.
“We started out pretty slow but we really picked it up at the end to pull out the win,” Cochran said. “We’ll need to come with more energy and play smart all the time tomorrow. We gel better now than the last time we played them. We’re playing more as one within the system.”
The Lions defeated the Warriors 25-13, 25-13, 25-13 on Aug. 30.
Warriors head coach Lester Thorne expects the rematch to be different from the first meeting between the two teams. He also expects the pace of play to be faster than against the Timberwolves, who gave the Warriors trouble on Monday.
“Lyons will definitely by tougher and we definitely did not play our game today,” Thorne said. “We play a fast-paced offense and they (Timberwolves) definitely play a slower offense. Getting the two of those to gel and mesh didn’t really work well.”
For the Timberwolves, Monday’s loss capped an inaugural season that saw them finish 1-7. Head coach Kimberly Wilson said the players learned a lot about what it takes to compete while taking their lumps in 2013.
“This was our first time at districts and I think our girls came in with a lot of nerves and some jitters,” Wilson said. “We just weren’t able to come out with a win. We made some mistakes on our side. But it was a learning experience.”
Junior middle hitter Kindal Ellis led the Timberwolves with six kills and Megan Hiatt had eight assists.
Melissa Hulstrom, one of seven juniors that make up the varsity roster, said the Timberwolves are optimistic about returning their entire lineup as seniors in 2014.
“It went really well considering it’s our first time and we’ve hardly played together,” Hulstrom said. “We’ll continue to learn to play well as a team, especially since we all plan to play club together.”
Follow Brad on Twitter: twitter.com/BradCochi
Longmont Christian 3, Twin Peaks 0
At St. Vrain Memorial Building
Twin Peaks (1-7) 13 16 12
Longmont Christian (8-12) 25 25 25
Kills — Twin Peaks: Ellis 6, Hulstrom 3, Osteliek 2; Longmont Christian: Mitschke 11, Cochran 10, Ehr 4, Moore-Kneipp 3, Stair, Jauregui, Hefner.
Blocks — Twin Peaks: None; Longmont Christian: None.
Assists — Twin Peaks: Hiatt 8; Longmont Christian: Stair 26, Mitschke, Dean.
Aces — Twin Peaks: Osteliek 3, Wanninger 2; Longmont Christian: Mitschke 5, Jauregui 4, Ehr 2, Dean 2, Stair, Moore-Kneipp.
Digs — Twin Peaks: Osteliek 5, Oswald 4, Hulstrom 4, Wanninger 3; Longmont Christian: Jauregui 7, Mitschke 3, Dean 2, Hefner 3, Cochran 2, Stair 2, Rose, Ehr.
